Join the Oak Creek Sikh Community on 2 campaigns to #endhate

The Oak Creek Sikh community and Amardeep Kaleka, the youngest son of slain temple president Satwant Singh Kaleka, have launched two national initiatives around peace, diversity, and anti-hate: Heritage Day (November 21st) and the Be Proud Campaign.

The Oak Creek Sikh community and their non-profit Serve 2 Uniteare asking teachers and parents to join them for Heritage Day on November 21.

Parents and teachers will ask each student to go home and find out about their specific heritage. The students can return with a story, song, clothing, food, or any piece of their unique culture and share it with the rest of the class. “There are infinite possibilities as to the methodology. All of them are correct,” says Amardeep Kaleka.

The initiative is already gaining ground in over a hundred classrooms, including as far away as Australia and France. The second campaign, Be Proud, will air its PSA 133 times in North America across six networks over 10 days. Gurbaksh Chahal, a software entrepreneur from San Francisco, designed the campaign to help spread a message of diversity and movement-building.

Amardeep Kaleka is also a creative producer of the thirty second spot, which was loosely based off his original “We Are Sikhs” video:

Please support these two campaigns by checking out the websites, sharing the videos with loved ones, and encouraging youth, parents, and educators in your life to take part in Heritage Day. Let’s keep these conversations going, so that Oak Creek never happens again.

Yesterday, the FBI announced the conclusion of its investigation on the Oak Creek shooting. The Sikh Coalition also released a statement today thanking the FBI for conducting their investigation. The Sikh Coalition agreed with Attorney General Eric Holder’s August 10, 2012 statement that the attack was a “hate crime”, and has been campaigning for almost two years to have the FBI track hate crimes against Sikhs. If you would like to support and stay updated on these efforts, you can learn more here.

Active Campaigns

  • A bold, colorful graphic with a purple background featuring floral designs and tigers in a textured style. The top reads “18MR” in white text. In large, bright green and 3D-style gothic font, the message says: “OUR COMMUNITY IS OUR REMEDY.” Below that, in a white pixel-style font, it reads: “IN SOLIDARITY WITH MOVEMENT POWER.” Digital-style raised fist icons appear along the sides, representing resistance and unity.

    Give today in solidarity of movement power.

    We’re calling on our community to help raise $25,000 in fierce, unwavering solidarity. 18 Million Rising lost $250,000 in funding for standing with Palestine. But we refuse to be silent in the face of genocide—and we know you do too. This moment calls for courage, care, and collective action. Your support means we can keep […]
  • Graphic with textured blue background. Header text reads: Stop HR 9495. Bit.ly/VOTENO9495. Body copy reads: This bill could be used to target groups working with Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and further marginalizing these communities. It also could be used to target nonprofits that oppose the choices of the executive branch, undermining the autonomy of civil society organizations.

    STOP HR 9495

    Last week showed us that 2025 will be a tough political climate for us. But a proposed bill could make our organizing almost impossible: HR 9495 that would allow the incoming Trump administration to target and destroy pro-Palestine non-profits by claiming that the orgs support terrorism. The bill is set to be voted on by […]
  • ID: Blue graphic with orange duotone photograph. Photo shows Hindu fascist leader Modi with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. There's another photo of Modi shaking hands with Donald Trump. Text reads: TATA BYE / BYE. New York Marathon: Drop TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) as a sponsor! Sign the petition: bit.ly/NYRR_DROPTATA. Join the Protest on Nov 3: bit.ly/marathonaction

    TATA India/Israel NYRR Campaign

    Follow SALAM for updates and indiaisrael.org for more information. We will update you in 2025! TATA India/Israel NYRR Campaign: DEMAND NYC MARATHON DROP TCS BLOOD MONEY! TATA BYEBYE 👋🏿👋🏾 UPDATE 11/4/24 Download our FREE ZINE for you to print out, fold and distribute to your community. Though the Marathon is over, we still must inform […]

Also On 18MR